Taming Flame
by sabor ice
Summary: During Magneto's recruiting for the Brotherhood, Pyro encounters Soul-seer, a young woman that possesses exceptionally extraordinary gifts. The bond they eventually form brings Pyro to the realization that some life-lessons are more valuable than others.


_Title: Taming Flame_

_Author: sabor ice_

_Fandom: X-Men_

_Rating: T->M_

_Pairing(s): John Allerdyce Pyro & Delilah Duchovney Soul-seer_

_Summary: During Magneto's recruiting for the Brotherhood, Pyro encounters Soul-seer, a young woman that possesses exceptionally extraordinary gifts. The bond they eventually form brings Pyro to the realization that some life-lessons are more valuable than others. Set during X-Men 3: The Last Stand/AU._

_Status: Incomplete_

_Disclaimer: I do not own X-Men._

_Author's Notes: First and foremost, feedback is appreciated. Secondly, I don't remember whether or not any known mutant has the name and/or any ability that I've given my OC, so if there is, please excuse my ignorance._

**Part One**

It was impossible for Pyro not to notice her, the girl with the sunny hair and the face of an angel. She wore jeans and a short blue parka, but the plainness of her clothing did not manage to take away from her natural beauty. She looked a picture from some fairy-tale, not someone who would be found sitting in the dreary confinements of a neglected, old church, listening to controversial ideas and speeches of vengeance and treachery. No, the story Pyro lived in was no fairy-tale; its characters were all dark strangers, dancing with the likes of the Devil, playing with fire and looking to get burned. She was not like the others. She did not fit in his story. She was too innocent - or was she?

She was staring at him again, her blue eyes piercing right through him, even from across the room. Her features remained neutral, unfathomable, and it left a small unsettling feeling in the pit of Pyro's stomach. He didn't like it. If left him feeling exposed somehow, naked under her intense, unwavering gaze.

He threw her a dark look, a warning if nothing else, but it changed nothing. She continued watching him endlessly, even as he followed Magneto from the stage at the head of the church and passed her. No one else sitting around her seemed to notice the way her eyes followed him, for they were all much too soaked up in their own agendas, but she was the only thing Pyro could see. Her presence was unnerving, but seemingly only to him. He was left feeling unfocused, and above all things else, he was just plain annoyed.

At this point, Pyro was tempted to throw a fireball in her direction just to see her explode into a fireworks display. Fireworks always amused him when he was stressed or feeling low.

For a short while, Pyro had managed to ignore the feeling of having her eyes on the back of his head. Magneto was speaking with new candidates, persuading them to join their cause whenever he found one who's power was useful. The one called Callisto could sense a mutant's level of skill, and by her calculations, no one in the room was beyond a level three besides Magneto and himself. Useful their powers may have been, but Pyro wasn't impressed. It was difficult to be impressed by those who were inferior to him.

He glanced over his shoulder, more out of restlessness than curiosity, and there she was. She had moved from her seat to a pile of debris near the gap in the east wing of the church, away from the main group of conversing mutants, but she was still staring at him.

Pyro's jaw visibly tightened in irritation; he rolled up his sleeves to the elbows as he stiffly sauntered her way.

"Got a problem?" he snapped.

She said nothing. He scoffed.

"What are you looking at?" Pyro added, irritably.

There. Something had changed. Something had flickered across her features, but whatever it had been remained a mystery to him.

"You," she answered.

Pyro threw his arms up in the air at the obviousness, and swept his fingers back through his untamed fair hair once. He opened his mouth to say something, but when he turned back to spew an insult at her, he was quickly interrupted by Magneto. The mutant placed an aged, wart-infested hand firmly upon Pyro's shoulder, bringing the younger man back to full attention, and spared a glance between him and the blonde girl, who was once again silent and staring. The reason behind the tangible irritation rolling off of Pyro's shoulders in waves wasn't palpable, and it left Magneto in a cloud of dis-interested wonder.

"Save your raging hormones for a rainy day, boy. There's still work to be done," Magneto then told him.

His gaze flickered to the blonde young woman then. For the first time since Pyro had laid eyes upon her, she glanced toward someone other than himself. A wave of relief inexplicably washed over him, like his entire being had just been released from an unseen entity's steel grasp, and he could breath easy at last.

"And, what is it that you can do, my dear?" Magneto fished, his weathered face enlightened with genuine interest.

Her gaze flickered from Magneto to Pyro. He couldn't be positive, but Pyro was almost certain he had sensed a hint of a smirk in the corner of her mouth as she brushed past him. Magneto lifted a thick, graying brow in her general direction as he, Pyro, and several others watched after her in mild fascination. The blonde circled herself out into an opening of the church and steeled herself in place. She lifted her chin confidently.

"You, Pyro," she began. "Throw a fireball at me - the largest and hottest one you are capable of."

Was she purposely fishing for a dangerous demonstration? Pyro scoffed in utter disbelief, raking a hand back through his hair. She was challenging him of all people? He studied under the great Magneto. She was inferior to him, and no matter what her skill or skills may have been, she would inevitably be demolished by his awesome power, and be nothing but a streak of ash left in his wake.

"Anxious to die?" Pyro mused, standing now not fifteen or twenty feet from her.

"Afraid?" she retorted.

"Your funeral," he said, with a forced chuckle.

The crowd had considerably grown around him, and some mutants began yelling jeers and taunts, egging him on. Pyro ground his teeth and planted his feet more firmly on the ground, about a foot apart. He had an arrogant lift to his chin as he pulled back his fist, and launched out fire from the small flame-thrower attached to his arm. The moment the blaze scorched the dense, low air of the musty church, he quickly manipulated it into a giant fireball that could've come straight out of a dragon's mouth, his eyes burning with the same intensity as the flames. Without preamble, he launched it toward the blonde and the entire room shook with one collective gasp.

And, in a matter of a few short seconds, it was all over.

The fireball had crashed into an invisible all and violently ricocheted, sending tinier balls of flames in every direction, but no one had had time to take cover, for the initial force of impact had caused such a surge of energy that it had sent every mutant within the room flying backward. The walls crumbled and the ancient frame, the very foundation of the old church, sunk to the Earth. Only after the ground had stopped shaking and the cloud of dust and smoke had mostly subsided, did Pyro dare to pull himself up out of fallen debris. Slowly everyone else did, too, and there was a rush of astounded confusion and fear among the mutants as they looked toward where the blonde mutant had been standing.

That had been no skill of an amateur.

She was still there and completely unharmed. Impenetrable as it seemed.

Magneto was the first to comprehend her showcased ability, and he gave a pleased smile.

"You are very special," the old mutant said, approaching her warily. She smiled sweetly. Was she blushing?! Pyro wanted to vomit. "What do you call yourself?"

"Call me Delilah," she answered, and shook Magneto's gloved hand firmly.

"Un-fucking-believable," Pyro grumbled in disbelief and winced, placing a hand at his sore lower back as he re-gained his footing completely.

Pyro's brow was heavy in consternation. How could he have allowed himself to be played so easily? Oh, he was pissed, but clearly not as upset as Callisto was. Somehow her calculations had been just a tad off. She stalked over to Delilah, her dark eyes penetrating the blonde's.

"Why did I not sense you were so powerful?" she asked, bewildered and offended at the same time. Mostly she was curious, as were all the others, including Pyro.

"In plain terms, she can create both physical and mental forcefields at will. Am I right?" Magneto chimed in. She had the enhanced ability to be able to deceive others from getting inside of her head, much like Magneto was able to with the use of his custom-made neuron-inhibiter helmet. Delilah grinned. "Mind over matter. It looks like you could still learn a thing or two, my dear, Callisto." His voice turned gritty with disappointment as he added: "And, you too, Pyro."

Callisto scoffed, turned with a whip of her dark braid, and stalked away, her comrade, Archlight, on her tail. Pyro was stunned, and his dropped jaw made him look like a fish out of water. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously, watching her like a wolf might a deer. Magneto clapped his hands together once and cleared his throat, throwing the edge of his cape over his shoulder.

"Well, Delilah, I'd be honored to have you as apart of my representation. Your skill could come in handy," Magneto said with a warm, inviting smile, and he put his hands up in the air to gather attention as he spoke next to the crowd. "Come, my children. It is time for us to take our leave."

Pyro took a heavy step forward at pointed a finger right into the hollowness at the base of Delilah's neck. Her blue eyes widened in curiosity, but not in shock over his action.

"I am onto you," he declared, acid in his voice. "Better watch your back."

She abruptly wrapped her own slender fingers around the one of his that poked her and yanked back on it harshly, nearly bringing Pyro to his knees out of agony. Her face was disturbingly pleasant as she leaned in close to him.

"Next time you're thinking about fireworks, I suggest allowing me to make _you_ the display," she said, in a sing-song voice, before kissing him on the tip of the nose and leaving him behind in a slump of frustration and embarrassment as she followed in Magneto's steps.

Pyro held his sore hand against his chest and threw a death glare at the back of Delilah's head as she gracefully walked away. Gritting his teeth and muttering incoherently, Pyro reluctantly followed the rest of the stragglers, leaving the decimated ruins of the church behind.

Pyro broodingly fell into step with Magneto. Much to his displeasure, a task had already been voluntarily concocted on his behalf concerning the new mutant.

"I want you to keep an eye on that one," he instructed Pyro of Delilah. "Her attributes are impressive and potentially valuable to our cause. However, I get the impression that there is much secretiveness hidden behind that show of innocence. And, as much as I enjoy a good show from time to time, it comes to us at a time of irrelevance. I do not wish to find myself inconvenienced."

**End, Part One. Please R&R!**


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